In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle. With the mixer on low, gradually mix in the flour until a smooth dough forms.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough gently to form a ball. Divide the dough in thirds, wrap each in plastic or waxed paper, and flatten into squares. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment. Remove one piece of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 1/8-inch-thick rectangle. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, trim the rough edges of the dough so the sides are straight, and then cut into 2-inch squares. Spoon about 1/2 tsp. of the preserves onto the center of each square. Fold one corner into the center, dab with the beaten egg, and then bring the opposite corner into the center and pinch firmly together to seal the corners. With a thin spatula, transfer the cookie to the cookie sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

Bake one sheet at a time until golden and very lightly browned and puffed, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely and then dust with confectioners’ sugar.

user reviews

made it?

by Philosolaw, 12/7/2010Not totally thrilled with the recipe, although it's not terrible. My dough puffed considerably when baking so I would recommend cutting smaller sections to avoid giant cookies. The dough barely has any flavor on it's own (unless you prefer the taste of flour of course) so the powdered sugar dusting isn't optional, even with a filling.

by lmg82, 1/7/2010These cookies are adorable! I filled them with lemon curd instead of apricot jam (I used the FC lemon curd recipe, which works like a dream). I found I had to really go light on the curd when filling them to keep the cookies from overflowing. I do agree with the previous reviewer that the dough is not full of flavor, but I think that's fine if you want the flavor of the filling to really shine through.

by ANGELAREMSEN, 11/29/2009This recipe was good, although, not spectacular to me. The dough was easy to work with, although it needed some more flavor to it. I made a second recipe with the addition of vanilla and a pinch of salt...makes all the difference. I also made my own Italian Fig Filling instead of using the apricot preserves and glazed the finished cookies with an orange and vanilla icing. Turned out great with these changes.